Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: I Am the Sword of Completion's Disciple (3)
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“Gyeong, you see, the sword is…”
The Child Instructor, Jin Je-yong, began to speak about the sword in a youthful voice, one that hadn't yet broken.
A small, child-like hand placed a wooden sword into Nam Gyeong's own.
When he looked up, he saw the little Child Instructor, Jin Je-yong, his martial uncle, and his martial aunt watching over him.
“If I made a mistake while teaching Sam, I think it was that I taught him in a way that was too difficult.”
“Pardon?”
At first, Nam Gyeong had wondered what a ten-year-old kid could possibly teach about the sword. But after getting soundly thrashed with a wooden sword by that young instructor, he changed his mind.
He had taught him that before the sword, age meant nothing at all.
“So I’m going to teach a little more simply, slowly, just as my master taught me.”
“Th-thank you.”
“So. Let's learn properly, from one, from a single form, from the first sword.”
But Nam Gyeong was never able to learn more than that one, single form.
For three years, he failed to properly learn even a single sword form from Jin Je-yong.
Still, after learning from him for about three years, he was able to become a respectable escort for a medium-sized escort agency in the Sichuan region, and he even served as a guard for a merchant caravan.
Later, a connection led him to join the Righteous Alliance five years ago.
And it didn't take long for him to realize what a frog in a well he had been.
‘I was just intimidated, ignored, and that was it.’
Then, Jin Je-yong appeared before his eyes once again.
Jin Je-yong looked completely different from how he had over a decade ago.
Having grown considerably, Jin Je-yong no longer had the bright, sharp look of his childhood.
He looked like a simple farmer you might see somewhere in the countryside.
“Gyeong, what is the matter?”
“Sob! Instructor!”
Nam Gyeong recognized Jin Je-yong, approached him, fell to his knees, and clutched the leg of his pants.
Tears blurred his vision.
“I missed you so, so much, Instructor!”
The moment Nam Gyeong saw the Child Instructor's face, the sorrow he had suppressed for the past five years came pouring out.
Jin Je-yong glanced at Jeok-sam and Lee Geum-yeong with a troubled expression, then carefully placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Yes, you’ve been through a lot.”
“Yes! Instructor! Your disciple… your disciple Nam Gyeong is… *sob*!”
Nam Gyeong was sobbing too hard to speak properly.
Jin Je-yong forcefully pulled Nam Gyeong to his feet and spoke.
“Who is it that makes my disciple cry? Who has made things so hard for you?”
“In-Instructor, it’s about…”
In front of his young instructor, in the middle of the street, Nam Gyeong poured out his grievances.
From the discrimination he faced for coming from a countryside school after joining the Righteous Alliance, to what he had just heard from Warrior Gwang.
“Let’s go.”
After listening silently to Nam Gyeong’s story, Jin Je-yong uttered just one phrase.
“*Sniff*! Huh? Where?”
“What are you doing? Didn’t you hear the instructor say let’s go?”
Jeok-sam urged him on. Nam Gyeong looked back and forth between Jin Je-yong and his senior, Jeok-sam, with a dazed expression.
Jin Je-yong started walking ahead.
“Is it this way?”
Jin Je-yong’s leisurely stride as he set out, and Jeok-sam’s steps following him, were both unhesitating.
Lee Geum-yeong sighed and shook his head.
“Is it really okay for an outsider to intervene in the internal corruption of the Righteous Alliance?”
“Of course not!”
Nam Gyeong, pale with shock, didn't even have a moment to wipe his tears as he chased after Jin Je-yong.
After joining the Righteous Alliance, he had realized how insignificant what he learned at his school was, and how the Sinnae Sword School, which had seemed so grand, was just a frog in a well.
He was a Divine Sword or a Sword of Completion only within Sinnae Village; once he stepped out into Sichuan, he saw how pathetic his skills truly were.
‘This is dangerous!’
In contrast, the people they were heading toward included Warrior Gwang, who came from a vassal sect of the Qingcheng Sect, and the Jeungbyeokmun was a faction of the Unorthodox Path with a long history and tradition that even the Righteous Alliance kept a close eye on.
These were not people that a sword instructor, called a genius only in a backwater village, could handle.
“In-Instructor! W-wait a moment!”
It was a mistake to have poured out his frustrations and sorrows.
That was what Nam Gyeong firmly believed.
“My instructor is in danger because of me!”
He dashed forward to stop Jin Je-yong.
* * *
“Sam, I thought it was a shame that our school isn't known to the world, but I figured it couldn't be helped.”
“Instructor?”
“We never engaged in any outside activities, so it was unavoidable. Still, I never thought the disciples who left the school would be scorned to the point of such suffering.”
“Instructor…”
Lee Geum-yeong had said that his eldest senior, A-mun, was doing well, so he had assumed the other disciples had also settled down and were living decent lives.
In fact, the letters that came from time to time assured him they were living without any want.
“But hearing that the school, the school my master built, is being disrespected… it doesn’t sit well with me.”
“No, that, that’s, Instructor…”
Jeok-sam’s words trailed off. I could roughly guess what he was trying to say.
*It’s all because I’m lacking. I shouldn't have stayed in Sinnae Village; I should have occasionally gone to Chengdu to check on the disciples' well-being. And I should have been more active externally.*
“My master once said that in the martial world, once you are looked down upon, you must shed blood to overturn it.”
“Instructor, are you planning to see blood?”
“Having taken up the sword, having come out into the martial world, not seeing blood is not an option.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Unlike my seniors, I had a bit of a talent for swordsmanship, so I often injured them when I was young. That was why my master strictly forbade me from harming others.
Even so, there was something he always said at times like these.
“Before you hurt others, cherish your own body more.”
“The Grandmaster’s words.”
“Yes.”
As I was talking with Jeok-sam, we arrived at the place Nam Gyeong had mentioned.
It was a deserted back alley in Jungrang Prefecture. The scent of people emanated from an abandoned house that hadn't been inhabited for a long time.
Inside, a well-built middle-aged man and a group in black martial uniforms were sitting opposite each other.
Between them lay a sack filled with some unknown powder.
“This looks exactly like an opium deal.”
Jeok-sam casually walked among them and inspected the contents of the sack.
“It looks like dried poppy, but not just dried; it seems to have been processed with various medicinal herbs, steamed, and then dried. This would be good to inhale as smoke, or to put in food…”
“This is not the time for that! Young Master Jin! Young Master Jeok!”
Lee Geum-yeong shouted sharply.
What could be more dangerous than a disciple using opium? Once addicted, it was a terrifying substance that could make you forget your own parents and family.
“Warrior Lee, you may not know this, but… well, I only heard this from my master, but if one gets addicted to this opium…”
“It’s not the opium, it’s this situation that’s dangerous!”
At Lee Geum-yeong’s shout, I finally looked around.
About a dozen men in the room were staring blankly at me and Jeok-sam, who had suddenly appeared.
“Who the hell are you guys?”
“What? Who are these bastards?”
I finally understood what Lee Geum-yeong was trying to say.
“But why is it dangerous?”
“I don’t know. Not when our instructor is here.”
It seemed that even Jeok-sam, the jack-of-all-trades who knew just about everything except martial arts, didn't understand what Warrior Lee meant.
Just then, Nam Gyeong belatedly rushed into the house. He was in such a hurry that he was panting, unable to speak properly.
“*Gasp, gasp*! In-Instruc…”
“Sam, we need to give our Gyeong some water. The boy looks like he’s about to pass out.”
“Understood. Gyeong, drink some water. Here.”
Nam Gyeong snatched the waterskin from Jeok-sam and gulped it down.
Then he let out a huge breath and shouted.
“Instructor! Why did you come here? Those men are from Jeungbyeokmun, a notorious faction of the Unorthodox Path!”
“Ah! Then is that man over there Warrior Gwang, who works with Gyeong?”
I pointed to the middle-aged man who was wearing a different martial uniform.
When pointed out, Warrior Gwang blinked and turned his gaze toward Nam Gyeong.
“Warrior Nam, what is all this?”
“Warrior Gwang, well, an acquaintance from my hometown came to visit, and after hearing about today’s events…”
“Ha! Are you tattling to your family like a clueless child? Your lips are certainly loose. Amazing, our Warrior Nam.”
Warrior Gwang emitted a cold killing intent.
“But because of that pathetic sense of justice, your young instructor here will be buried in this place.”
Ignoring Warrior Gwang, who was radiating killing intent, I turned to look at Nam Gyeong.
Nam Gyeong was sweating profusely, nervously glancing at Warrior Gwang.
“So, to sum up the situation, Warrior Gwang, a warrior of the Righteous Alliance, is dealing with a local Unorthodox faction called Jeungbyeokmun, right? And it's opium?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why is our Gyeong being so cautious?”
I didn't understand. It was a strange situation where the one who discovered the corruption was wary of the one committing it.
The person who unexpectedly resolved my confusion was Warrior Gwang himself.
“Warrior Nam’s instructor may not know, but this is how things work around here. The words of Warrior Nam, from some nameless, backwater school in who-knows-where, carry less weight than mine, a man from the Yangcheongmun, a vassal of the Qingcheng Sect.”
“What does that mean? Sam, translate.”
“He’s saying that no matter what Gyeong says, his own background is better, so he can easily crush him.”
“Ah, so because our school is unknown, Gyeong is being persecuted?”
“Well, something like that, I suppose.”
I looked around once more.
A Righteous Alliance warrior and an Unorthodox faction dealing in opium. No matter how I tried to look at it, this was not a good thing.
“We didn't interrupt some kind of sting operation or something, did we?”
“Seeing as that Righteous Alliance warrior said what he did, I don’t think so. He would have said something else.”
“Then, Warrior Lee.”
“Huh? Me?”
When I called out to Lee Geum-yeong, he, who had been standing there lost in thought, looked up with a start.
But he too was a warrior of the Righteous Alliance. And from the intelligence division, no less, which meant he was from a higher-ranking unit than a local branch.
“Regarding this matter, how does the Righteous Alliance intend to handle it?”
“Corruption in the lower ranks will be met with execution… no, with severe punishment. But while I will report it, I don’t have the authority to mete out punishment.”
“I wasn't talking about the corruption. It was about the discrimination based on one's origins. But, never mind.”
I dusted myself off and stood up. Then I drew my sword and thrust it into the neck of the man in the black uniform who was glaring at me.
As I slid the sword that had smoothly pierced the man's neck to the side, his head dropped cleanly, like a ripe persimmon.
“Evil can simply be cut down. We can question the Righteous Alliance’s affairs later.”
“Huh? Wha-?”
Lee Geum-yeong’s eyes widened as he stared at me.
Why was he so surprised?
Well, it didn't matter.
For now, I intended to first restore the fallen honor of our school and boost my disciple's morale.
“Gyeong, watch closely.”
“Instructor?”
Nam Gyeong, who had been tense, answered.
“What kind of sword the instructor from what people call a nameless, backwater school wields, and what kind of sword you have learned.”